Dr. Alok Roy, President and Ms. Angana Guha Roy Chowdhury, Assistant Director, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) travelled to Bangladesh to meet Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) on 12th and 13th April 2015 respectively.
It was part of the outreach activity of the Chamber and also to strengthen CECCI by bringing on board the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Bangladesh. CECCI is an initiative spearheaded by BCC&I for bringing the Chambers of Commerce in the ‘East’ together and creating a common platform for the greater benefit of the common membership.
Mr. Hossain Khaled, President; Mr. Humayun Rashid, Senior Vice President; Mr. Md. Shoaib Choudhury, Vice President and Mr. A H M Rezaul Kabir, Secretary General of DCCI met Dr. Roy and Ms. Guha Roy Chowdhury. DCCI appreciated the initiative of BCC&I for constituting CECCI. Mr. Hossain Khaled emphasized the need of a research wing for an initiative like this. They expressed their in-principle interest in the joining the Confederation. Discussions were also held on policy advocacy and other areas of mutual interest.
In Chittagong, the meeting was held with Mr. Mahbubul Alam, President; Mr. Md. Nurun Newaz Salim, Senior Vice President; Mr. Mahbubul Haq Chowdhury Babur, Director; Mr. Mohammad Harun, Acting Secretary and Mr. Md. Ali Azgar, Deputy Secretary, CCCI who expressed their enthusiasm about this initiative and informed that they would like to participate. Mr. Mahbubul Alam also confirmed to attend the first Executive Committee Meeting of CECCI on 5th May 2015 in Kolkata. He suggested a meeting with Yunnan Provincial Confederation of Industry and Commerce-Yunnan Provincial Chamber of Commerce (YPCCC) in Kunming to invite them to join the Confederation.
CCCI has partnered with World Trade Centre (WTC) and constructed a twenty two floor WTC in Chittagong which aims to bring together business and government agencies involved in international trade under one roof. Amongst other features, it also includes a permanent exhibition arena. Dr. Roy and Ms. Guha Roy Chowdhury visited the exhibition centre which would be inaugurated in September 2015. CCCI also took them to the Trade Fair they were organizing annually for years. CCCI hosted a lunch for BCC&I representatives with their Directors at the Chittagong Club. Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President, India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industries and Mr. Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, President, The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry were also present in the lunch.